Valentina Sykes touches down in Paris - but not at Balenciaga

valentina sykes (R) backstage at john galliano FW1314 via fashionising

When we spotted this recent Sun Herald story about 17 year-old Sydney model Valentina Sykes being "optioned" as they say in the model biz as a potential "exclusive" for last week's Balenciaga show at Paris Fashion Week, we felt the need to Tweet: "one way of reducing your chances of getting a balenciaga exclusive - talking about it beforehand". Sykes did wind up making her international runway debut in Paris, although not for the super prestige Balenciaga show, rather, John Galliano - the namesake line of Christian Dior's disgraced creative director, which is owned by Dior parent LVMH and continues on without him under the direction of Bill Gaytten. Of course any major Paris show is a great get. But the moral to this story is: never count your fashion chickens before they're hatched.  

Flame war - Elliot Ward-Fear and Thom Kerr do battle for Autumn/Winter 2012

Elliot Ward-Fear’s moment in the sun has been a long time coming. The 23 year old NSW TAFE graduate, who hails from the picturesque Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney, has yet to make a standalone runway outing in Australia. That’s due to change in late April, when he is scheduled to stage his solo Australian Fashion Week debut. Ward-Fear’s first two collections didn’t generate any wholesale sales, just a few private commissions. But they did score quite some publicity – thanks notably to an edgy campaign for Autumn/Winter 2011 from Australian fashion photographer Thom Kerr. After skipping one season altogether, Ward-Fear is back in the game with an Autumn/Winter 2012 collection called Flame, which comes accompanied by yet more conceptual Thom Kerr imagery. Here is a first look at the lookbook, starring New Zealand’s own comeback queen, Liv O’Driscoll. 

Liv life

thom kerr

Whatever happened to Olivia O’Driscoll? In 2008, at age 17, she emerged as one of New Zealand’s most promising modelling newcomers. Repped internationally by IMG, she walked in four Paris haute couture shows in July that year, before flying to to Milan on an exclusive option for the Spring/Summer 2009 Prada and Miu Miu shows. While those gigs never eventuated, she nevertheless shot editorial for French Elle, German Vogue, Japanese RUSSH, Wallpaper, AnOther Magazine, US Teen Vogue and Italy’s Amica. Only to suddenly drop out of the business, sparking various rumours. In spite of the fact that New Zealand has the second-highest rate of teenage pregnancies in the developed world, a pregnancy was not among these whispers. But a baby daughter, Hara Lea O’Driscoll, arrived a day after O'Driscoll's 20th birthday in December 2010. Now as a single mum, with new management back home in Auckland (Red Eleven/MHI) and Sydney (Chadwick) - and as “Liv” O’Driscoll, as she prefers to be known these days - she is attempting a comeback. She joins models Jourdan Dunn, Arizona Muse, Natalia Vodianova and Australia’s Cassi van den Dungen, all of whom took time out under the age of 20 to have children. Herewith an exclusive preview of some new test shots by Australian photographer Thom Kerr.

Blue crush

Six months after an explosion of hype over New Zealand’s Olivia O’Driscoll, which included mention of gigs for international magazines, haute couture shows in Paris – and a potential Prada show exclusive, which never eventuated – the upwardly-mobile Kiwi has scored a second (after NZ's Pilot, tks Isaac) glossy cover. Here is a preview of the winter 2009 cover of Australasian mag KAREN, due out next week. And what a cover. Shot by Charles Howells, the hallmark feature of makeup artist Sarah Laidlow's beauty look is a pair of blue smackers courtesy Sweet Georgia Brown. "I wanted something very classically beautiful and modern, I wanted it to pop on the stand" KAREN's editor in chief Marian Simms told frockwriter. "Everyone is feeling that times are bleak and I wanted to have a bit of celebration”. The issue includes Jessica Hart and teams photographers Michele Aboud and Sonny Vandevelde with stylists Geoffrey Burger Nolan and Michael Azzollini.

Prada's new supernova?

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For anyone wondering why Olivia O’Driscoll did not turn up in New York this week, there’s a good explanation. The 17 year-old Kiwi who frockwriter profiled in July, could be about to do a Gemma Ward and walk for Prada and Miu Miu.

According to The Dominion Post, O’Driscoll flies to Paris today and “could” be booked for a Prada/Miu Miu exclusive – which means she’ll miss next week’s New Zealand Fashion Week, which kicks off on Tuesday.

However as O'Driscoll's agent, Caroline Barron of Auckland’s Nova Models, told the paper:

“Financially, it was a no-brainer. It is really frustrating because everyone here wants to use her and I feel really embarrassed as NZ Fashion Week is really important to us, but it is important that Olivia is in Paris.”

Prada is headquartered in Milan and the company’s casting director Russell Marsh is reportedly London-based.

Dubbed ‘the model maker’, Marsh is credited with launching the careers of, among others, erstwhile world number one ranked models Gemma Ward and Daria Werbowy and the current world number two, Sasha Pivovarova.

Ward’s international career was launched in September 2003, when she flew to Milan for a Prada and Miu Miu exclusive for the SS04 season.

Earlier this year Marsh was embroiled in a bribery brouhaha, when he was accused of accepting sweeteners from the IMG and Women agencies to place those agencies’ models in Prada’s shows – prompting a rebuttal from IMG.

O’Driscoll is represented internationally by IMG.

But there are of course no guarantees. According to the well-placed modelling sources at The Fashion Spot web forum, O’Driscoll is merely “on hold” for Prada.

Rumours that Australia’s Myf Shepherd is also a Prada possibility might have been quelled by Shepherd’s omnipresence at New York Fashion Week. According to Shepherd’s Australian agent Kathy Ward, Shepherd walked in at least 12 New York shows. Prada tends to like to unearth new talent.

But Shepherd is tipped to do very well in Europe notwithstanding.

Speaking of NZ models....meet supernova Olivia O'Driscoll

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O'Driscoll is 17, already repped by IMG and, according to her Auckland mother agency, has hit the ground running.

Nova Models reports that O'Driscoll is/has:

• Shooting French Elle
• Shooting for Italian Amica (for the second time)
• Walked in four FW0809 Haute Couture shows in Paris (Nova mentions Alexis Mabille, Georges Hobeika and Dany Atrache)
• Shot a portrait to feature in US Teen Vogue for the launch of Jean Paul Gaultier’s new fragrance – "a portrait with Mr Gaultier himself shot by Benjamin Huseby"
• Either already shot for/is booked to be shot for, Another Magazine, RUSSH Tokyo, Pin Up magazine, Wallpaper and German Vogue

She sounds like a very busy girl.

Beyond vogue.com.au/TFS chatter, the only media outlet/blog to pick the story up as far as I can see so far is Kiwi blog, The Girl With The Kaleidoscope Eyes.

O'Driscoll will apparently be back in Auckland from 31st July - 20th August, with "limited availablity".

Shame she won't be there for NZFW.


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